Metal-matrix composite (MMC) tools are typically manufactured by placing loose powder reinforcing material into a mold and infiltrating the powder material with a binder material, such as a metallic alloy. The various features of the resulting MMC tool may be provided by shaping the mold cavity and/or by positioning temporary displacement materials within interior portions of the mold cavity. A quantity of the reinforcement material may then be placed within the mold cavity with a quantity of the binder material. The mold is then placed within a furnace and the temperature of the mold is increased to a desired temperature to allow the binder (e.g., metallic alloy) to liquefy and infiltrate the matrix reinforcement material.
A wide variety of MMC tools are commonly used in the oil and gas industry for forming wellbores, in completing wellbores that have been drilled, and in producing hydrocarbons such as oil and gas from completed wells. Examples of such tools include cutting tools, such as drill bits, reamers, stabilizers, and coring bits; drilling tools, such as rotary steerable devices and mud motors; and other downhole tools, such as window mills, packers, tool joints, and other wear-prone tools.
MMC drill bits used in the oil and gas industry are constantly exposed to varying downhole conditions affected by mud pressure, the type of formation being penetrated, the weight-on-bit, and torque. These continually fluctuating variables can result in conditions where the MMC drill bit is irreparably damaged, such as in the case of blade breakage, which can cost the drilling company and the bit provider significant time and money. When blades in MMC drill bits break, they tend to break in similar locations and are usually lost due to high torque and/or high weight-on-bit.